Alisa's Poker Face
by jojoDO
Summary: When Lars invites the guys over for poker night, an inexperienced Alisa gets in on the game. Little did they know, Alisa's mental integrity is not to be undermined... Lars x Alisa romance!


"Hey Tougou, this one's gone flat!" Lars shouted to his old friend and war buddy, who was in the kitchen. Lars flung the nearly empty beer can at Tougou, who caught it with one hand and poured it down the drain. He then fished a new one out of the fridge and tossed it back.

"Thanks man." Lars said, cracking open the can and sipping some off the top. "Hey, how's it going? Need some help?"

"Don't even come in here!" Tougou shouted as he expertly tossed the pizza dough through the air and seasoned it. "The last time you helped make a pizza, you threw it so high it got stuck in the ceiling fan."

"Hey, it's my kitchen!"

"Yeah, but I'M the one who knows how to use it."

"Ah, screw you."

Tougou chuckled as he stuffed the pizza in the oven and sat down next to Lars on the couch, cracking open a beer of his own.

"So how's Alisa?" Tougou suddenly asked.

"Umm, what's that supposed to mean?" Lars asked nervously as he sipped his beer.

"Nothing, I mean how is she?"

"Oh, well... she's fine. Healthy. She still helps her father in his lab."

"Does she come to see you often?"

"Sometimes. She has a lot of free time since she doesn't have to go to school and her father has a lot of help."

"Interesting..." Tougou said, a grin on his face. Lars looked at him with a raised eyebrow,

"What are you getting at?"

"Ahhh nothing!" Tougou said, stretching nonchalantly. "It just seems like you two are pretty close."

Lars was starting to get red faced. "So what?"

"Why don't you make a move on her?"

Lars nearly spit his beer out.

"Wha-what the hell does that mean?" Lars stammered, causing Tougou to laugh out loud.

"I'm just saying you two are good together. You two are very close, and she seems to love being around you when I see her. Have you ever though about asking her out?"

"That's it, if you want to keep drinking my beer then SHUT UP!" Lars yelled. Tougou laughed as he flinched and moved to the other side of the couch.

"Okay, okay. You know you are really red right now."

"Tougou, I swear I will-"

They were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come on in, bro!" Lars yelled. The door opened and there stood Raven, dressed casually for once in his life. He wasn't even wearing his shades.

"Hey, there's the guy we've been waiting on!" Tougou shouted. He quickly went to the fridge and tossed Raven a cold one. Raven caught it without even looking and plopped onto the couch.

"So what is this, your one day off for the whole year?" Lars teased.

"I took a sick day. I never get sick." Raven said in his stoic voice, cracking open his beer. Lars stood up and turned down the volume on the TV.

"Welp we're all here, pizza's in the oven, and the beer is cold. What say we get started, gents?" he said, tossing the remote on the couch.

"Don't you want to eat first?" Tougou asked.

"I didn't come here to eat, I came here to take your money." Raven said, playfully punching Tougou's shoulder. Tougou winced and immediately started rubbing it.

"What makes you so sure you're gonna win?" Lars asked.

"Look at this face." Raven said, pointing at himself. "Does this look like the face of someone who loses at cards?"

"No, but it looks like a face only a mother could love." Tougou said out loud. Lars chuckled while Raven turned his head and folded his arms.

"Hey I'm just joking. Just promise you'll take it easy on Lars here. He needs his money so he can take Alisa on a fancy date!"

Raven's eyebrow raised. "So you finally grew some balls, huh?" he asked, which caused Lars to get red faced again.

"I am NOT having this discussion!" he yelled. "Sheesh, why do you guys care anyway? Neither of you have wives or even girlfriends!"

"Hey, I don't have time for that shit. Not in my line of work." Raven stated.

"Yeah, and I... well I don't really have an excuse. But neither do you! You've got a cute, single girl who likes to spend time with you, but you just wanna hang out with us two losers."

"Heh, that's the word I would use." Lars said with a chuckle.

"Well at least we don't pass up opportunity when it's right in front of our faces!" Tougou retorted.

"Just shut up and deal." Raven finally said. Tougou gave a "hmph" and pulled the deck of cards out of his pocket. The three of them sat at a small table as Tougou shuffled the cards. As he shuffled, there was another knock at the door which startled everyone.

"Were you expecting anymore company?" Raven asked.

"No, not really. Huh, wonder who it could be..." Lars said as he made his way to the door and opened it. It was none other than Alisa Bosconovitch, Lars's close friend and partner in the Tekken Tag Tournament.

"Greetings, Lars!" Alisa said cheerily. She was also dressed casual, wearing a pink t shirt and a navy blue miniskirt. She was also wearing a nice pair of navy blue open toed heels.

"Alisa? Um, what a pleasant surprise, uhh..." Lars scratched his head as he tried to find words to say. Alisa just stood there, wearing her huge smile.

"What are you doing man? Are you gonna invite the lady in or not?" Tougou shouted from the table. Lars finally came to his senses and stood aside, motioning for her to come in. Alisa bowed slightly and walked inside, Lars closing the door behind her.

"So what brings you here?" Lars asked, beckoning Alisa to take a seat.

"W-well father has went to sleep for the night. He gets tired easily these days. I... just wanted to spend time with you." Alisa said shyly, causing Lars to blush madly and Tougou to chuckle silently.

"But I seem to have interrupted your social gathering." Alisa said, looking around the table. "If you want me to come back tomorrow, I..."

"Nonsense!" Tougou interrupted. "Lars is more than happy to have you. In fact, he's been talking nonstop about you the whole time!"

Lars got redfaced and turned to his friend, balling his fists. "Tougou, you son of a..."

"Are you playing some sort of game?" Alisa asked, looking over Raven's shoulder with a curious expression. Raven noticed and quickly hid his hand.

"Why don't you sit down and play with us?" Tougou asked. Before Lars could open his mouth, Tougou pulled up a seat and dealt her a hand. Alisa excitedly sat down at the table and picked up her cards.

"Cmon Lars, before I peek at your hand." Tougou said with a grin. Lars rolled his eyes and sat down at the table, picking up his hand.

"Do you know what you're trying to do, Alisa?" Lars asked her. Alisa carefully examined her cards.

"I assume that I'm trying to find a desirable combination of five cards?"

"Yeah, that's the idea. Discard as many cards as you need and replace them, but you gotta have five. Then the real fun begins..." Raven said with a smirk.

"Alright Raven, I think we need to take it easy on her this round. No betting." Lars commanded.

"Aw, screw that!" Tougou shouted. "Look, I'll cover Alisa, okay?"

"It's okay, I have my own money." Alisa said cheerily. "My father compensates me for my duties in his lab. May I request that the three of you stop treating me so condescendingly?"

Suddenly Tougou and Lars felt kind of bad. Tougou just looked away and scratched his head, while Lars massaged his forehead.

"Well gee, uh... I'm sorry about that Alisa. I just didn't want to take advantage of you." Lars said.

"It's quite alright. Anyway, I think we should start." Alisa urged.

Lars discarded two of his cards and replaced them. Tougou did the same. Raven discarded three of his and drew three new ones. Finally, Alisa did nothing.

"You sure you don't want to discard any?" Lars asked.

"I'm quite certain that the cards I have are a winning combination." Alisa said with a smile.

"Oh really?" Tougou said with a smirk. "You hear that Lars? Your girlfriend is gonna beat you in your own home."

"SHUT IT!" Lars yelled, sweat dripping down his forehead. Tougou laughed loudly.

"I'm sorry to say Alisa, but there's nooo way you're gonna beat this hand!" Tougou exclaimed. "I'm willing to bet 50 big ones on it."

Tougou put 50 dollars on the table and turned to Lars.

"So how bout it, man?"

"Ugh, did you have to bet so much? This is a friendly game." Lars said, rubbing his head. "Fine, I'll see the 50 and raise 60."

"Wait, let's spice things up a little..." Tougou said with a smirk. "How about this? If Lars loses, he DOESN'T have to pay. BUUUT he has to do something else."

"And just what would that be?" Lars said with a frown.

"You have to do that thing we were talking about earlier."

Lars nearly jumped out of his seat, startling Alisa who was across from him.

"L-lars? Are you functioning properly?" Alisa asked, worried.

"I'm fine! Fine!" Lars yelled with a chuckle. "Yup, everything's A OK Tougou I'm gonna rip out your freaking.."

"I'll see that 60 and raise 100." Raven said stoically, tossing the money on the table. "Okay Alisa, it's your turn. Bet as much as you want, but it has to be equal to or greater than mine."

"Raven!" Lars shouted. "Why the hell did you bet so much? It's her first time, for pete-"

"I bet everything I have." Alisa said calmly, causing everybody to nearly fall out of their chairs. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her tiny bill fold. She pulled out 250 and gently placed it on the table.

"Alisa! Think about what you're doing!" Lars shouted.

"Yeah, maybe you should take that back. I mean, you're gonna make me feel guilty." Tougou said, scratching his head.

"Perhaps you should worry about yourselves. You see, I am certain that the three of you will be defeated." Alisa said with an unnaturally cute smile.

"Hmph, cocky are we..." Raven muttered. "So who's gonna go first?"

"Alisa, I'm giving you one more chance to rethink this." Lars said. "I don't want you to lose your money!"

"But I won't." Alisa said, still wearing her smile.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Do you wish for an explanation?" Alisa asked.

The three of them just looked at each other, then at Alisa.

"Very well then." Alisa began.

"You see, I have been monitoring your reactions and bodily fluctuations since you all exchanged cards. When Tougou looked at his new hand, there were no sudden changes in his emotional state. However, when it was his turn to place a bet and he bet high, I noticed a significant increase in his heart rate. When he exclaimed that he would beat me, I noticed his limbs stiffening and he began unconsciously stroking his ear. This leads me to believe that he is lying about having a good hand, and his high bet and deceptive confidence was an attempt at bluffing his way to victory."

Tougou's mouth was wide open as he stared at Alisa blankly. He said nothing, but set his cards on the table and plopped onto the couch. Sure enough, his hand was nothing but three 5s.

"And Lars, you are the easiest one to read. When you looked at me, the duration of your eye contact was exactly .3458 seconds. Your inability to make frequent eye contact combined with your sudden emotional outbursts towards Tougou and myself indicates that you are guilty and planning on giving up your hand to protect me. I've also noticed a spike in your dopamine levels, but I cannot seem to ascertain the cause for this."

Lars turned red as fire and looked away from Alisa. He exhaled deeply and threw his hand on the table, joining Tougou on the couch. It was a flush.

Alisa turned and locked eyes with Raven, whose face was like a statue. He stared back at Alisa, completely unflinching.

"And as for you, Raven... your exterior reactions are impossible for me to read, but upon a deeper observation I have sensed an unusual rate of cortisol in your body, indicating an increase in stress. This is why I saved you for last; now that Lars and Mr. Tougou have forfeited you are starting to feel the pressure of being the only one who has a chance at victory against me. Your past strategy has revolved around exploiting your ability to maintain a stoic and imperturbable demeanor as your opponents begin to crack under the emotional and psychological trauma. But that cannot work against me."

Raven's face didn't change; not even the slightest twitch. He was NOT going to allow Alisa to win this psychological battle.

"Your cortisol continues to rise." Alisa continued. "You are incapable of sensing my emotions, whereas I can read yours quite easily. That is why you are starting to doubt your ability to win this game. Your heart rate is increasing as your mind forces you to make a judgement call: will you forfeit and lose your money, or will you take a chance to beat my hand, despite the inability to predict the value of my hand based on my physical or emotional implications?"

"What makes you think I'm nervous?" Raven asked. "For all I know, YOU'RE not even sure if you have a winning hand."

"You are attempting to humble me into forfeiting by referencing my inexperience." Alisa said with a smile. "Or perhaps it is your intention to insult my intelligence?"

The two of them locked eyes for another straight minute until Alisa noticed something trickling down Raven: a lone bead of sweat.

"Your shell has been broken." Alisa said, grinning.

"Gaaaah! Enough!" Raven shouted. He threw his hand on the table and walked away. It was a full house: two queens and three 8s. He plopped onto the couch and folded his arms. Alisa giggled as she put all the cards back into the box and stuffed her winnings into her bill fold. Once she was done, she sat down in the chair across from the couch.

"Waaait a minute!" Tougou shouted. "What was your hand, girl?"

Alisa looked at the three of them with a clueless face as they all stared in anticipation.

"I have no idea!" she yelled with a giggle. Tougou literally fell off of the couch and onto his face.

"Guess she outwitted all of us..." Raven muttered. He then stood up and stretched. "Well, I think I've had enough punishment. Later, bro."

"Wait, you're leaving now? The pizza's almost ready!" Lars shouted. "What, you too Tougou?!"

"Sorry man, but I'm not very hungry anymore. To be honest, I really just wanna lay down. See ya!"

As the two of them walked out of the house, Tougou turned around one more time.

"Oh, and Alisa! Lars has something he wants to talk to you about!"

"YOU MOTHER-" Lars shouted as Tougou ran away laughing, slamming the door.

It was just Lars and Alisa now as Lars pulled the pizza out of the oven and then just plopped onto the couch, massaging his head. The two of them just sat in silence for a good minute or so before Alisa finally spoke.

"Lars?"

Lars shot up and looked over at Alisa, nervous about what she's say next.

"Hmm?"

"Mr. Tougou said you wanted to talk to me."

"Crap..." Lars said silently. He closed his eyes and scratched his head for a moment, desperately thinking of the words to say. Finally he opened his eyes and turned to Alisa.

"Well... have you... is there someone in your life? Someone you... like?"

"Do you mean like a companion?" Alisa asked. to which Lars nodded. "Well, no, It's just me. My friend Xiaoyu frequently tries to match me with boys my age, but I always find their compatibility rate to be lacking."

"W-well... what's your compatibility rate say about me?" Lars asked, then immediately shut his eyes and gulped.

Alisa started at him for a second, a look of puzzlement on her face. "Are you saying... you wish for our relationship to be on a deeper level than acquaintanceship?"

"I'm saying I like you!" Lars shouted. "I've liked you for a long time, ever since we first teamed up. But I never had the guts to tell you because I'm... well I'm kind of a loner."

Alisa was speechless for a few seconds, even turning a little red in the face.

"I don't know why I'm so afraid to let you in. Maybe it's because of my own past... but no more. I'm done hesitating. Alisa... do you want to stay with me tonight?"

Alisa was really getting flushed now. Lars leaned back to give her a second to breathe. After a minute of silence passed, a smile formed on Alisa's face.

"Of course I do! Lars, I enjoy spending time with you more than anybody!"

Lars closed his eyes and exhaled, feeling the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. He had done it! Now he felt like thanking Tougou for all the times he pushed him to make a move.

"Alisa... it makes me so happy to hear that." Lars said, smiling at his blushing counterpart. "Thank you."

"Y-you are welcome." Alisa squeaked, still kind of embarrassed. She sad there for a moment and played with her fingers awkwardly. "So... what should we do now?"

Lars thought for a minute, then suddenly remembered the pizza. He shot to his feet and went into the kitchen, grabbing his pizza cutter.

"Would you care for some pizza Alis-uhhhh..."

Lars's face quickly turned to a frown when he attempted to cut the pizza only to find that it was rock hard! He tried again, his face straining as he put all of his weight down on the pizza in an attempt to cut one slice. Alisa stood up and joined him in the kitchen, observing Lars's struggle with a curious face.

"Perhaps the pizza was cooked longer than the recommended time?"

"Yeah, I guess so...!" Lars said, still putting both hands on the pizza cutter and applying pressure.

"Here, please allow me to try." Alisa said. Without warning, she placed both of her hands on Lars's. Lars suddenly froze and tensed up, Alisa doing the same. They stood there for a few seconds, in complete silence.

A few moments passed before they realized they were right next to each other, their bodies touching. Lars felt heat rush to his face as he turned and was face to face with Alisa, so close their noses were almost touching. Heat was engulfing Alisa's face as well, and soon the both of them were red as a tomato.

Lars felt his face moving on it's own, inching closer and closer to Alisa. Alisa flinched ever so slightly, but soon was moving her own face closer to his. As soon as their lips touched, they both let go of the pizza cutter and threw their arms around each other. Their bashfulness was slowly starting to melt away as the kiss and the movement of their hands around each others' bodies intensified. Their kissing became a bit more sloppy and their hand movements erratic as a moan escaped from Alisa's throat. Lars's breathing became erratic; kissing Alisa made his head spin faster than a tornado.

Lars's hands crept down Alisa's legs before sharply making their way upward to her thighs. Without warning, Lars lifted her high and laid her down on the kitchen counter. He leaned over onto her and started kissing her erratically, from her mouth all the way down her neck. Alisa's moans were starting to get louder now as her body arched. Her hands started moving on their own as they furiously fumbled around the bottom of Lars's shirt. After a few seconds of struggling, Lars finally broke the kiss and removed his shirt, immediately smashing his lips against her as soon as it was removed. Alisa stroked his chest while Lars reached down and pulled down her skirt with one jerk.

Alisa got off of the kitchen counter and threw herself against Lars, kicking off her skirt and pushing him back into the living room. She pushed him onto the couch and got on top of him, removing her shirt and tossing it aside.

"Eh... I wasn't hungry anyway." Lars said with a chuckle. Alisa smiled as she leaned back in and started attacking Lars's lips once more.

They spent the rest of their passionate, blissful night on the couch. After the steamy, sensual events that occurred that night subsided, the two of them fell asleep, blanketed by each others' warm embrace.

 **THE NEXT MORNING**

"You promise you'll come back tonight?" Lars asked.

"Of course I will. And I'll stay as long as you want me to." Alisa replied as she slipped back on her shoes.

"Well in that case... let your father know you'll see him in the morning." Lars said with a sly smile. Alisa chuckled and gave Lars one last deep kiss on the lips.

"I love you. Bye!"

Lars waved as she walked out of the house. As soon as the door shut, Lars ran to go get his phone. After he got it, he plopped down onto the couch and started zooming through his contacts. As soon as he found Tougou, he pressed the call button.

"Come on... come on... hey, Tougou! Guess what? You can shut the hell up now."

 **THE END**


End file.
